Ruthless (The Seraphim Series Book 2) (9 page)

“How long have you been up?” Benedict flicked through the papers Lilliah had handed him.

Rebecca stood close by, yawning.

“A few hours,” Lilliah replied, brushing it off, too excited to think about her lack of sleep. “We’ve been on Azrael’s computer all night. There wasn’t much but”—she held up her pointer finger—“there was something … something about a psychic.”

Lilliah was grinning and so was Rebecca.

“The Delphines.” Benedict looked up from his papers. “What about them?”

Her shoulders slumped. “You already know about them?”

They had been searching all night, going through all of Azrael’s e-mails and his entire history. They thought they had finally gotten somewhere with the Delphines. Lilliah had started to hope.

“Yeah, they’re a family of psychics. They can speak to angels.”

Lilliah and Rebecca eyed each other.

“Speak to angels?” Rebecca moved to stand next to Lilliah, looking bewildered. “Don’t you think that’s something that should have been brought up before? I mean, this seems like kind of a big deal."

“It’s not as simple as that.” Benedict chuckled, most likely at their naivety, but Lilliah was getting mad.

“How? How is a psychic who can talk to angels not simple?”

Benedict was still smirking. “The angels don’t answer back or just do not hear them, we don’t know which. The Delphines have been hunted since magic came to this world. A few decades ago, they came to The Cure asking to be hidden.”

“Don’t answer back? So they just ignore them?” Rebecca’s shoulders shook with laughter. “That must be so annoying. Imagine a family of angels trying to eat their dinner or something and all they hear is someone in the background saying, ‘Hello? Please, someone talk to me.’ And they’re all just staring down at their food, thinking, ‘If we ignore them, they’ll go away.’” By the time she finished, she was full-on laughing.

Lilliah wasn’t in the mood for laughter. “But they can talk to angels, right?”

“Well, I thought it was funny,” Rebecca said, still grinning.

“Yeah, they can talk to angels. They also have visions. But there is still no telling if they will help us.”

Lilliah turned away, fisting her hand in her hair in frustration. She swung around to face the others. “But it has to be something, right? I mean, does anyone care that Azrael is gone and the Devil himself is out of Hell!”

Benedict’s gaze hardened. “I was looking after you.”

Lilliah regretted her words immediately. She hadn’t been talking about Benedict directly, and she knew he had looked after her until she had healed, both physically and mentally.

“Well,”—Rebecca clapped her hands together, her eyes bouncing between Lilliah and Benedict—“I think I’ll head off to bed.” She walked past Benedict and pulled a worried face at Lilliah. “See you later.”

Lilliah waited until Rebecca had left to speak. “I didn’t mean that you didn’t care. I’m sorry, I’m just frustrated.”

Benedict was loyal to Azrael, as loyal as anyone could ever be. She had no right to question what he had been doing, and she had faith he
was
doing something.

“You’re frustrated, it’s understandable.”

Lilliah could see he was still hurt. “No.” She ran towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He stood completely still. “I’m being a complete bitch.”

After a moment, Benedict slowly encircled his arms around her. “I’m doing everything I can. We will save him.”

“I know.” Lilliah pulled away, wiping her tears with her thumb. “I just want answers, you know? We have no idea what’s happening to him. Lucifer could be torturing him! Then he could be planning to destroy everything! We just don’t know.”

Benedict’s lips turned up a little at the ends, though his features remained grim. “Magic or not, we’ll find Azrael. If it means killing the Devil himself”—he shrugged—“then so be it.”

“Yeah.” She breathed in deeply. “So my plan failed. What’s your plan? Where do we start?”

“We have to go to The Cure. I told them about what’s happening. There’s going to be a council meeting in two days.”

“Okay.” She liked this progress. “I’ll get my bags.”

                                                                  ********

“Mum’s fine. Going on lots of dates,” Lilliah said into her phone. She didn’t have to see Sebastian to know he was rolling his eyes.

“Have you met the guy yet?”

Lilliah leaned against the brick wall outside The Cure, her blonde hair tied neatly in a bun, with the busy New York streets in front of her. Benedict had been whisked away on business as soon as they’d arrived. The meeting she had come here for was starting in a few minutes, giving her just enough time to step outside to check in on her brother.

“No.” Sebastian sighed. He’d offered to stay back in London. Lilliah had had a long chat with him before she’d left, telling him everything she knew about Lucifer and Azrael. Sebastian understood the danger and knew their mother would be a prime target. “Mum keeps asking when you’re coming round. I think she wants us to meet him.”

Lilliah pursed her lips. “With everything that’s going on, it’s meeting mum’s boyfriend that’s bothering you?”

“Yes. You should be bothered too.”

“I was bothered at first, but I’m not now. I want her to be happy.” In comparison to everything in her life right now, meeting her mother’s boyfriend actually sounded kind of nice. It sounded normal.

Rebecca walked out of The Cure through the large, wooden front doors and strolled up to Lilliah.

“Your girlfriend’s here,” Lilliah said to Sebastian. “Do you want to speak with her?”

“Yeah, put her on,” he said, sounding instantly happier. “I’ll look after Mum. Oh, and I told her you’ve gone away with Azrael for a few days to Rome. So when you come back, make something up.”

“Rome? Why did you tell her that?”

“She was asking so many questions and tried calling you a few times. It was the only way to stop her from asking me where you were.”

“Okay. Good plan. It’s a little bit elaborate, but it will work.”

“Good idea? No, this was a genius idea.”

Lilliah raised her eyebrows; her brother really did think a lot of himself. “Genius, huh? Well, tell me this, Einstein: what do I say when she wants to see pictures? It’s a lie that’s going to create too many more lies. You should have just said I was ill or something.”

“It’s done now, so just roll with it. Now pass me to my girlfriend and call me as soon as the meeting’s over. I want to know everything those slimy bastards say.”

Even though she knew he couldn’t see her, Lilliah shook her head, frowning. “That was rude, but I will. Look after Mum and stay safe. If you see anything or anyone that looks remotely suspicious, call someone.”

“Yeah, yeah. I have no idea who could help me, but I’ll call.” Sebastian breathed in. “Stay safe, Lil.”

“Yeah, you too.” Lilliah passed the phone over to Rebecca, who took it gratefully.

“The meeting’s about to start. Good luck and kick ass.”

Lilliah nodded and smiled before heading back into The Cure. The building was busier than she remembered. Witches and warlocks were running everywhere; no one walked anymore. They had come from all over the world for the meeting. The Devil escaping from Hell was a very big problem, it seemed. The building itself was the same, though—huge and magnificent, with magic concealing its size from the outside world. The last time she’d been here had been with Azrael; he had brought her to The Cure to protect her, and here she was, hoping to save him.

“Lilliah.” She turned to see Benedict walking towards her with a few people, all dressed in black cloaks, following behind. “The meeting, are you ready?”

A man Lilliah didn’t recognise stepped out from behind Benedict. “Don’t you think it’s best if the lady stays behind? You’ve just arrived this morning. She must be so tired. All this talk about Lucifer will not be good for her.”

Lilliah turned towards him, a polite smile still on her lips. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

“Oh, you must forgive me.” The man held out his hand. “I am Harold Bailey.”

“Harold.” Lilliah took his hand in hers and squeezed it firmly. “Have you ever met the Devil?”

The question startled Harold for a minute, and he tried to pull his hand back. Lilliah didn’t let him. “Well, no. No one has.”

“I have.” Her smile vanished. “Does it frighten you, the thought of Lucifer?”

Harold gave her a jerky nod. “I’d be a fool not to be afraid.”

“Well then, maybe it is you who should stay behind. Lucifer has Azrael and I will get him back. I don’t have time for people like you. I need thinkers and helpers. So if you’re not one of them, make room for someone who is.”

No one spoke.

Benedict stepped forward, nodding proudly. “Now that we have that sorted, shall we?” He then bent his head so only Lilliah would hear. “Well, that was something.”

“No way in hell was I not going to this meeting,” Lilliah answered, keeping her voice lower but not whispering.

She followed Benedict through the halls and into a large room full of cloaked figures. All of them were talking, but as soon as they saw her and Benedict enter, a hush fell over the gathering.

“Let’s begin,” Benedict said, his voice booming.

The doors shut behind them, and everyone took a seat except for a few who were left standing in the back. Benedict led Lilliah to the front. People moved, giving up their seats for them.

“You all know why we’re here. Lucifer has escaped.”

The room burst back into life, with men and women talking over each other.

“It’s a disaster,” one man shouted above the rest. “We’re all going to die.”

“We need to hide and wait out the war,” a woman somewhere to Lilliah’s left shouted. She tried to follow all the voices, but it was impossible.

Benedict held up his hand and the room quieted again. “We need a plan of attack. He has the angel Azrael. It is only a matter of time before he comes here.”

“Did Azrael go willingly?”

Lilliah’s head snapped to the younger man on her right, her jaw tense. His eyes briefly flicked to her, but his focus remained on Benedict.

“No,” Benedict answered simply. “His eyes were red, just like Lucifer’s. We believe it was some kind of magic, mind control perhaps.”

“Mind control? On an angel? That is powerful magic. Powerful magic indeed.” A woman in her early fifties stood. Her light ginger hair was pulled back from her face. She wasn’t wearing a black cloak like the others, but was dressed rather plainly in jeans and a knitted jumper. The room filled with whispers as people talked behind their hands, all of them staring at the woman.

“Zena,” Benedict greeted. “I didn’t know you were invited.”

“We may not agree on many things, Benedict, but I think we can both agree that Lucifer coming back is a disaster.”

Lilliah watched the exchange closely.
Who is this woman?

“Your kind of magic isn’t welcome here.” Harold stood, his face scrunched up in disgust. He pointed his long, bony finger at Zena.

“Sit down, old man.” Zena scowled as if she were talking to a child. “My kind of magic might be the only kind that can save you.”

“We don’t deal with dark magic here, Zena. You know that.” Benedict sat back in his seat, controlling the room with ease. Everyone here respected him. Lilliah could tell by the way they all looked at him and hung on every word he said. “If you have nothing further to add, please leave.”

Zena stood straighter, her features hard and her eyes narrowed.  “The kind of magic you’re talking about doesn’t exist on earth. This kind of magic is from Heaven.”

Lilliah tensed; this had been their worst fear. “How do you know this?”

Everyone turned to her.

“I know every kind of magic there is on this earth: light, dark, you name it. A spell that can control someone? Someone as strong-minded as Azrael? It doesn’t exist. My guess is that it’s not mind control.”

“He didn’t go willingly,” Lilliah defended. “He was made to watch as Lucifer beat me.”

“There are other ways to control someone. Mind control only works on the weak.”

Azrael wasn’t weak.

“So what else?”

Zena frowned at Lilliah’s question.

“How else would you go about controlling someone?”

Before Zena could answer, the lights went out. People screamed and jumped from their seats. Benedict and Lilliah slowly rose. Her eyes scanned the room in search of anything that looked out of place, but it was so dark she could barely see.

“What’s happening?” Lilliah reached for Benedict, her heart racing.

“Stay here.” Benedict took a few steps away from her. “Try the door,” he commanded to no one in particular.

“It’s locked!” someone shouted. A wave of worried cries filled the room.

“All these witches and warlocks, all in one place.” Lilliah went cold at the sound of his voice. Her mouth went dry as the room hushed. “I am so very flattered.”